Halfway Through Summer Check-in: A Kid's Summer Reset with 2 Corinthians 4:16

Hey Carpool Crew! Happy Monday. Hope your weekend was great. I'm Pastor Justin and we are kicking off a brand new week. Real talk, you are basically standing at halftime of summer right now. I hope today wherever you are, you take one quiet minute and check in with God on how summer is actually going. Trust me. Halftime matters. And guess what? That's exactly what we're talking about today. Here's the One Thing for the ride: halftime is for refilling, not quitting. Today's verse comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16. It says this: "Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day." Now think about this. Paul writes this when he is pretty worn out. He had been beat up. He had been arrested. He had been on the road forever. His body was tired. And he writes this one sentence that has held people up for 2,000 years. We do not give up. The outside is wearing down, sure. But on the inside, God is making us new. Day by day. That phrase "day by day" is huge. Not all at once. Not in a giant moment. Just little by little. God refills you in pieces. Here's the thing. We are roughly halfway through summer. June is almost done. July is about to start. Some of you crushed June. You went to camp. You made friends. You memorized verses. You had the best month of your life. Some of you, June was rough. You fought with your brother every single day. You got bored by Tuesday. You scrolled too much. You stopped praying. You feel like you blew it. Either way. You are at halftime. And in every game ever played, halftime is not where you quit. Halftime is where you go in the locker room, drink water, catch your breath, and come back out for the second half. If Jesus were sitting right next to you in the car right now, He might say something like, "Hey. Doesn't matter if June was your best month or your worst month. I am not done. The second half of summer is still in front of you. And I am not asking you to be perfect. I am asking you to come back out of the locker room with Me." Now let's make this real. Picture this. Today is Monday June 29. Tomorrow is the last day of June. Wednesday starts July. You have a clean half of summer waiting on you. Here are three things you can try this week. One, take 60 seconds today and ask God one question. "How did June really go between us?" Then sit quiet and listen. He will speak through your gut. Two, pick one habit you want in the second half of summer. Just one. Pray every night. Read one Psalm a day. No phone before breakfast. Pick the one that scares you a little. Three, do not look back at June with shame. Look back with honesty. God is in the renewing business, not the punishing business. The next half is wide open. Okay, let's bring back the One Thing. Halftime is for refilling, not quitting. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, halftime is also a great time for your kid to ask God a real question. If your kid has one, send it in. We answer them on Questions from the Backseat. Link is in the show notes. Before you get out of the car, let's answer this question together: How would you describe the first half of your summer in one word, and what do you want the second half to look like? I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.